Not All You Seem
by mulhollanddrivee
Summary: A different turn, and a completely different direction for her career... Kaitlyn/Seth Rollins (eventual), Layla may also have a pairing. Feat. Layla, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and others. Set post Survivor Series 2012.
1. Chapter 1

No one you recognise belongs to me etc.

Part One

She passed through the halls of the arena, the young diva huffing out the occasional frustrated groan as she tried to find her tag partner for their match tonight, Layla, yet she was no where to be seen. "Damnit, Lay, where are you," she muttered, looking into pretty much every damned room in the arena, regardless of where it was or what was in it; she even took it upon herself to have a look in the cleaning closets. She was with the older diva when they'd arrived at the arena and before then at the gym, then Layla had suddenly disappeared for some odd reason. You could say Kaitlyn was a little used to this, Layla wandering off just as they arrived to find the others. Especially when she'd heard something worth chatting about. Hell, she'd probably gone off to gossip with Alicia Fox. Kaitlyn didn't know, but that would be her initial thought. Honestly, the diva was very close with Layla as well as being good friends with Alicia, she just wasn't the gossiping type and, well, they were, so she'd just leave them to it.

She passed yet another locker room, still not spotting the English diva. The two women were to take on Eve and Aksana a little later on. The match was originally put together earlier in the night by Teddy Long - obviously - after Aksana yet again had attacked Kaitlyn, wearing the blonde wig.

"Ugh," Kaitlyn muttered to herself, still not completely sure as to why Aksana continued to wear that thing, it was pretty clear that she was the one that went out to attack the younger diva for no necessary reason, so it wasn't as if the blonde wig disguised her or anything. Be it a personal thing, or Eve getting the Lithuanian to do her dirty work for her, there was no reason for her to attack Kaitlyn constantly. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if she tried it again tonight. Kaitlyn scoffed at the thought, it was likely to happen, but she would of course be able to get her own back tonight, which brought quite a sly grin to her face.

Turning a corner, she ran a hand through her hair, cursing not so quietly as she bumped into someone. The force being harsh - considering both of them were clearly in a rush to find someone and what not and the man she'd just bumped into was quite frankly huge - would've cause Kaitlyn to fall flat on her back if it wasn't for the person she'd ran into steadying her balance.

She stared wide-eyed as the man tightened his grip on her waist and shoulder, "Jesus," Roman Reigns murmured, letting go of her and tightening the band that held his ponytail up.

"Oh...I'm sorry I didn-"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

She swallowed hard, very aware of who she'd just bumped into, the thought of turning around and running for her life hanging in her mind, after all, she'd just bumped into a member of The Shield - probably the most intimidating one of the bunch in fact - a group of men who no less than a few weeks ago powerbombed Big Hungry himself through an announce table, handing out a few more beatings after that here and there. Not many guys in the back knew much of them, just that they'd arrived from NXT, after keeping a close eye on what was going on within WWE and deciding it was their time to change that. A shield from injustice, who would have thought.

"Sorry... I was in a rush."

He said nothing, only giving a slight nod before heading past her and the woman who was currently heading over to her, Layla. Kaitlyn stood there, looking back in confusion as she watched him head off. Layla approached her quite quickly, the look on her face all but happy.

"Kait, where have you been?! I've been looking all over for you!" She didn't sound her normal self. At all. She sounded more scared than anything else.

"You're kidding? Then how didn't we run into each-"

"It doesn't matter, I need to talk to you, now," the older woman cut her off, dragging her into the Diva's lockeroom before closing the door, her actions harsh. "Hey, relax! What's gotten into you?"

She stared wide-eyed at the other woman, her breathing heavy, "Kait...what did he say to you?"

"W-nothing, we just bumped into each other, I was rushing around looking for y-"

"So he didn't tell you anything regarding your match tonight?"

"W-what? What match? And how do you know?"

"Uh...," the brunette sat down on the bench slowly, tucking hair behind her ear anxiously, "I was heading over to Vickie's office and I overheard *them* discussing a match that you'll have to compete in...tonight."

"But...I have a match tonight, a tag match, with you... and... wait, what do you mean *them*?"

"The Shield, Kait."

Kaitlyn froze, a sense of fear forming in the pit of her stomach, just the mention of them made her anxious, the same would probably apply for any other diva (or superstar) for that matter. But this was beyond that, them being mentioned, involving her? The Shield, why on earth would they be discussing a match Kaitlyn was supposedly competing in?

"Wha-"

"And yes, but it's a match aside from that," she continued, standing up, starting to pace back and forth, "I have no idea who you're against or what the deal behind it all is, but The Shield were in there, Kait. They were talking about it, and it sounded like their idea, too. They sounded very convincing. What's worse, I don't think you can get out of competing in it, either."

"I...," she slumped down onto the bench in shock, her mouth ajar and eyes staring at the floor. Layla walked over to the bench and sat next to her, "Kait, I don't want to get you even more worried, but I'd listen out for any stipulations within this match, because I don't think this is going to be *just* a regular match. There's got to be a catch. If you lose, there's no telling what that could mean." 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you those that have followed/reviewed this :-)

Part Two

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Roman Reigns asked, standing up from the locker room bench, moving to stand infront of the youngest man of the trio - Seth Rollins - his arms crossed.

Dean Ambrose leaned forward in his seat, giving Seth a questioning look. "Yeah man, why the sudden crazy idea?"

"Of course I think it's a good idea, or else I wouldn't have suggested it" Seth replied. "It's far from crazy, Dean. This could benefit us in the long run, trust me, this could make us stronger as a faction," he turned to face them both, the look on his face a little more serious than before. "And in case you two haven't noticed, there's a lot of injustice going on, and not just in the men's division, if you know what I mean."

They both looked up quickly at his words, then at one another, before Reigns finally spoke. "But, why her?"

"It's simple, really. Night of Champions, she was attacked, robbed out of her title match, her very *first* title match, to be exact. And that's not right, that isn't fair," he continued, the current NXT champion standing up and pacing back and forth, Reigns taking his space on the bench. "If it wasn't for that attack, she would most likely be the current champion. Fair and square. Plus, you're forgetting how damn dominent the woman is. She's a bodybuilder, and to my knowledge the strongest woman currently in the company, what with Beth Phoenix leaving not so long back."

"Soooo, you're saying it's...*our* job to fix the wrongs that were done to her at NOC and what not?" Dean Ambrose asked, raising an eyebrow at Seth, his expression somewhat incredulous.

"No, it's hers."

"I don't see where you're com-"

"Think about it, how many times has she been attacked by that foreign chick? And for what reason? She did nothing to provoke that," Rollins continued, still pacing. "There's a lot of injustice going on, guys, some of it we ourselves can't exactly stop."

"Pft, you're right," Dean scoffed, rolling his eyes at that last remark. "Going around making the Diva's division 'fair square' as far as revenge goes certainly isn't on my agenda, dude."

"It isn't on ours, either," Reigns clarified, turning his head slightly to look at Seth.

"I know, I wouldn't even begin to think that it was, which is exactly why this is a good idea. I'm sure she's looking for revenge, payback, but with the amount of Divas against her because of all these title shots she's getting, well, *earned*, she'll need a little something to help her on her way."

"Protection?"

"Exactly."

"Wait," Ambrose cut in. "Not *all* the Divas are against her. As far as I know, quite a few of them are fairly fond of her and she's pretty good friends with most of the divas," he scoffed, "well, what's left of them, at least."

"Yes, but who exactly can she trust other than maybe Layla?" Seth replied, reminding the two that her and Layla were very good friends, best friends, even, and even though the English diva knew that she had the talent and skill and that she would likely win the Diva's title soon enough, she wouldn't do anything to sabbotage that, they were too good of friends. "See, that's where we come in, she's without a doubt first in line for a title opportunity, and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon, she's improved hugely in the ring during this year. Hell, she's one of WWE's best talents at the minute as far as the woman's division goes. Plus, name one Diva in this company - that isn't Eve of course - that isn't bothered about a shot at that title? None of them, so some may be looking to take her out, you know, shorten the competition, which is wrong."

"Wait, how exactly do you know all of this stuff, Seth?" Ambrose asked, almost teasingly, "who she's good friends with, her in-ring improvement, all that stuff?" Dean leaned forward, attempting an innocent look.

"I... thought it was pretty obvious..."

"Oh yeah, and I'm a 7ft Mexican super eater," he joked, earning a dark glare from Rollins. Trying to get Dean to be mature, even in a situation such as this, was damn near impossible. So he'd just discuss it with Roman most of the time. Dean was a smart guy, he just liked to be a doofus about it, which was fine, Seth supposed.

"Look, the point is, she's been screwed out of matches too many times as of late. She's obviously pissed about it, I mean, who wouldn't be? And you can't tell me you haven't noticed her different attitude lately," he gestured with his hand, and Dean shrugged, swiping his hand across a shelf in the locker room then shaking the dust from it. "Only you, Seth."

The man rolled his eyes at the comment, "well, that doesn't matter," he folded his arms, offering a serious look to Reigns. "Anyway, the match is set for tonight, guys, and she's against Tamina as far as I know."

"And?" Reigns questioned.

"And, well, there's no changing or cancelling it, if she wins tonight in this match, the decision is made."

Reigns stood up from the bench, his gaze switching from Ambrose - who was still far too occupied with the dusty shelves - to Rollins. "So it's settled. If she wins tonight, she joins us."

"Yes, and I see it being pretty likely. Very likely. I can assure you, by the end of the night, Kaitlyn will be a part of The Shield." 


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you so much for the nice reviews, follows and favourites, it means a lot :-)

Part Three

It hadn't left.

The burning, nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach from what Layla had just informed her on was still there. The Shield, of all people, supposedly arranging a match involving herself didn't sound good, at all. Honestly, Kaitlyn wanted to think that maybe it wasn't them that Layla had heard, or that they were possibly discussing a different matter and she'd gotten the wrong idea of it all, or she'd even lied as a joke or something , which isn't necessarily in Layla's taste and the look on her face spoke genuine fear, so it couldn't be that. But all of this, that's what she wanted to think, but she couldn't. In the back of her mind, Kaitlyn knew that her older friend hadn't heard them wrong at all, that she was telling the truth, and that thought made her want to run off and hide or something.

Trying to shake the thoughts away and focus more on her tag match next, she headed through the Diva's locker room to see Layla sat on a bench lacing her boots.

"Ready?" She gave Kaitlyn a reassuring smile, likely trying to ease her mind about the whole situation, and Kaitlyn sighed, trying to add a little positivity to her tone. "Yep. Let's do this."

They headed out, Layla closing the locker room door and adjusted the hood she wore on the way to the ring, turning to face Kaitlyn, noticing that the younger diva was slightly on edge and looking down one end of the hall to the next.

"Kait, try and forget about the whole thing, I don't think we'll be seeing *them* anytime soon, just... focus on our match, it'll be fine."

"I... yeah, right. Sorry. I just... don't want them trying anything."

"They won't. They have no reason to-"

"But we don't know that, we don't know them, they could have anything planned," she pointed out, because, really, the only motives she or anyone else on the roster knew The Shield had were to 'shield the WWE from injustice', Kaitlyn just didn't know where she fitted into that.

"They won't touch you, Kaitlyn, they may be all for cheap attacks, but I don't think they intend to go after any of the divas, at least I don't think they do," she confirmed, Layla tugging the other woman's arm slightly. "Come on, we've got a match to win."

They headed over to the curtain and walked up the steps, waiting for Layla's music to be played. They'd decided on going out together, because they figured Eve and Aksana probably would too, plus Kaitlyn didn't plan on wasting time with entrances this time around, no; she wanted to get her hands on them both as soon as she could.

Layla's music hit and they both walked out, Layla being her usual cheery self, and though Kaitlyn really wasn't in the cheery mood, she still gave a few hand gestures and smiled, trying to clear her head a bit as she walked to the ring, a little jump in her step.

She entered the ring and paced around, waiting for Eve's music to hit, Layla doing her usual pose on the ropes before jumping down and resting her hands on her hips. "It's time."

There was a slight break of silence before Eve's music began playing and her and Aksana stolled down to the ring, Kaitlyn scoffed as she noticed Eve doing that ridiculous wave, the Diva's title hooked on her shoulder. They stepped onto the apron and into the ring, the two agreeing that Aksana would start off first.

"Kait, I got this," she gestured her hands infront of her, almost trying to stop Kaitlyn from barging past her and lunging at the other two women right there and then. Sighing, Kaitlyn gave the woman a slight nod, climbing through the ropes and onto the apron, sending a dark glave Eve's way; not that she'd noticed or anything. Layla was still facing in Kaitlyn's direction, which Aksana gladly took advange of, taking a cheap shot at the back of the woman's head, irish whipping her into their corner where Eve drove a vicious knee into the former Diva's champion's back. Kaitlyn grimaced at the impact, fighting the urge to smash Eve's face onto the apron her self and wiping that smirk from her face, though she didn't, instead reaching her hand out as far as she could so Layla could make a tag, and she almost did, that was was until Aksana managed to drag her back.

"Damn it, come on, Lay," she muttered, smiling when she saw Layla had managed to get a bulldog in there. "Atta girl."

Aksana crawled to Eve, making the tag, as did Layla to Kaitlyn, only just able to reach out to hit her hand. The Hybrid diva shot through the ring, hitting Eve with what looked like a spear, she didn't know, nor did she care, she was in too much of an angry state right now to. She then noticed that Eve was doing her usual, trying to escape from the ring, which Kaitlyn didn't let her do. She picked her up from the mat, driving her back down to it with a sidewalk slam, going for the pinfall, though Eve managed to kick out at a two-fall. Kaitlyn went back to pick her up, this time aiming for a gutbuster, that was until Aksana managed her way back into the ring, giving a vicious kick to Kailyn's abdomen, which Layla happily took care of, diving on the Lithuanian, taking the attack outside of the ring. Kaitlyn motioned yet again for the gutbuster, and the crowd erupted. Though this was a different kind, not something you'd hear during a divas match, Kaitlyn thought turning to see just what it was that had them so hyped up.

It was them, up in the luxury box, watching the match; watching her.

The Shield. 


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you guys SO much for your lovely feedback, I really appreciate the comments and I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

Part Four

She stood frozen, looking up at the three men above her standing in the box. Their arms were folded, and Kaitlyn couldn't help but notice Seth Rollins' attention was fully on her, him having no problem with letting the diva notice the glare he was giving her. Next to him stood Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns at either side, their eyes scanned the arena, occasionally looking over at the younger man of the trio.

She had a feeling they'd show up at some point during the night - more so during her match later tonight - but not during her tag match, so why exactly were they here right now and what were their intentions? Right now wasn't the time to be thinking that through considering she was in the middle of match, which the diva quickly reminded herself about, turning around to face Eve, who had just about pulled herself up by the ropes. She'd noticed the Shield's appearance and how it had distracted Kaitlyn and aimed to take advantage, going for a roll-up pin on the other diva, though Kaitlyn managed to kick out after two.

"Jesus, that was close." Kaitlyn looked over to the woman who said that, her tag partner, Layla whoch had just gotten back onto the apron, evidently not noticing the Shield. She was right, it was close, too close. The Hybrid diva cursed as she shot a quick glance at the men still stood above her, the men that had almost cost her this match. She couldn't help but think that they would do this again during her other scheduled match tonight, show up purely to distract her, which didn't sound good, at all. It was clear that the match most likely had a stipulation engraved in it somewhere, she didn't know what it was, and right now she was trying her hardest to push it to the back of her mind, which was a little hard to do with them making an appearence here right now.

Kaitlyn quickly got to her feet, only just dodging a kick to the abdomnem from Eve and hitting the Divas champion with a German suplex. The diva went for the pin, only just getting the two count thanks to Aksana's interference of breaking it up. Before Kaitlyn had a chance to get one back at the black haired woman, Layla was heading down from the top rope with a crossbody to Aksana, then rolling her out of the ring so her partner could get the pin on Eve. Kaitlyn hooked her leg only just getting the three count before Aksana could break it up again.

The referee didn't really have chance to raise the blonde's arm because of the English woman near enough diving on her. "You did it, Kait, we won!" Of course, it would be Layla that was more enthusiastic about their win given the look on Kaitlyn's face, which the older woman quickly caught onto as she turned her gaze to just who it was that had Kaitlyn almost mesmerized, and her eyes widened at the sight. Dean and Roman had turned around and started to head off, though Seth stood there a few seconds longer, his eyes not leaving Kaitlyn's at all.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Layla asked, and Kaitlyn looked over at her worryingly. "I have no idea."

The two women stood in the ring still, both looking over to where they expected to see Seth Rollins standing, but he'd left.

"Are you ladies okay?" The voice came from the man that had refereed the match, Mike Chioda. The man was probably wondering why they were still stood in the ring, obviously not noticing why they looked so surprised.

"Uh, yeah...come on, Lay."

They exited the ring and walked down the ramp, Kaitlyn still cautious with her surroundings. As crazy as it sounded, she hoped The Shield didn't have anything else 'planned' for her, she didn't know what to expect from them, no one did. They came across as dark and secretive, like if they didn't want anyone finding out or knowing things, it would stay that way. Honestly, she wished she knew more about them, but at the same time wanted to keep as far away from them as possible. Truth being, they intrigued her. Ever since their episode at Survivor Series they'd immidiately caught her attention, they scared yet fascinated her. As worried as she was about what her friend had told her early in the night, she was also really curious about it and she wanted to know the reason behind it.

She tried to push the thoughts aside and headed through the curtain with Layla.

"I'll stay with you in the locker room until it's time for you match. It seems like the only 'safe' place to be right now what with those jerks creeping around." The older diva scowled as she said that, and Kaitlyn could tell that she was worried about her, or even angry about the situation herself. Nonetheless, Kaitlyn appreciated that Layla was there with her and really concerned.

"Thanks Lay, but you really don't have to spend your time doing that, I'm sure I'll be okay."

"Are you joking? After seeing them show up during our match? I don't trust them at all and neither should you."

"I don't, it's just-"

"Good. Which is why I'll be staying with you, that includes during this match tonight. God knows who they've chosen to be your opponent, but I'll be there at ringside whether you like it or not." 


	5. Chapter 5

Holy crap, an update. A HUGE sorry to any readers for this overdue chapter, I'm working on it. Thank you so much for all of your kind words, they are very much appreciated and it means a lot that you're enjoying the story.

Part Five

"Nice going, dude."

Seth Rollins frowned at the comment, though oddly relieved one of the three of them had finally said something after walking back down the hall in completely silence near enough. He sighed, stopping to turn around and face the man who had blurted out the remark. "What are you saying, Dean?"

"Well, you did just kind of freak the hell out of her by showing up during her match," he thought back on his words and raised a brow, "well, we all did, I think. And not just Kaitlyn. The rest of them , too. But, it was your idea, so." Dean's look was more ingenuous than anything else, and Seth had to agree. After all, they had just shown up during a *divas* tag match. It was obviously going to give off the wrong vibes. They meant no harm whatsoever and nothing had been done, but it likely gave every person in the arena the entirely wrong idea, which, yes, Seth now realised.

"Right, you made your point, what do you want me to do about it? Walk into the divas lockroom and issue an apology?"

Ambrose scoffed at the response. "Uh, no, but I think you at least owe Kaitlyn an explanation, about all of this. Especially if she wins this match tonight."

Rollins cursed under his breath and rubbed at his chin. Of course he owed her an explanation, and she'd get one eventually. "I know, I know. Give it time, we'll focus on what gets said after her match. And I'm the one that has to explain us being there tonight?"

"Yes," Reigns and Ambrose replied in sync.

"I don't think she's going to be the only one we'll have to explain ourselves to."

Seth and Dean looked up at the third member of the trio, Roman Reigns. Considering the man never really overly involved himself with team discussions, when he did actually say something, he definitely meant it. It was something that both Rollins and Ambrose took into account. They understood, nodding their heads in response.  
Rollins folded his arms and frowned slightly, he knew what Reigns was getting at. He knew there would be talk of this backstage and he knew that some of the guys would be suspicious and even go as far to question them themselves. It was bound to turn heads and even start trouble.

"I'm sure Trips will be interested to know. Vince will be all over it."

Seth frowned at Dean's words, turning around to continue walking. They turned a corner and finally reached the lockeroom. No one was in this one, it was rarely ever occupied, which the Shield liked. They were pretty sure most of the guys didn't even know it was of use, which was good, because they weren't all that keen on the idea of sharing a lockeroom. "Well, we'll tell them it was nothing. Wrong place, wrong time."

"Dude, I'm not sure that's gonna cut it. They're gonna wanna know what we were doing there and why. Guys don't just show up during divas matches of all matches. Especially not guys that are essentially newbies. They know nothing of us, other than our motives, well, *motive*," Ambrose smiled to himself, "we're a threat, that's how they see us."

"They don't have to know anything about us. Our objective is simple: justice. Anything else right now is not of their concern. As for this, I'll figure something out."

"So what are you gonna do now? Go talk to Kaitlyn?"

Rollins thought for a moment, he knew now wouldn't be a good idea or the right time at all. "It's too soon. Just let her win this match then I will."

"Wait, win? Dude, it's all well saying you'll explain all of this to her *if* she wins her match, but what if she doesn't? What are you going to say then? 'Uh, yeah, sorry about the whole impromptu inform of your match tonight, it was mostly, I don't know, Vickie's idea'? Seriously, man, you must have a Plan B if she loses tonight."

A sly grin crept across Seth's face. "Oh, but there's no need. I already have it sorted."

Dean sat down on the bench and leant back, his arms folded across his chest, "wait, don't tell me," his words mimicked the lively amusement gracing his features, "Plan B is actually asking her to join, isn't it?" The words even drew a snigger from Reigns.

"Joke all you want, fellas. There is no Plan B. I've spoken to Tamina, Kaitlyn is getting the win tonight."

"Why, what have you got her to do? Get into the ring, lay on the mat and let Kaitlyn pin her for the three count? Not suspicious at all, dude," Ambrose mused, and Seth frowned.

"Obviously not, smartass. Of course she'll bring offense. Besides, I have no doubt Kaitlyn can take care of this match herself, it's just the safer option. She'll probably be a little on edge what with us showing up tonight-"

"Thanks to you," Ambrose cut in.

"I get it, man, thanks. Anyway, what's to say she could easily be taken off guard or something? At least we know for sure she's winning. Spear, pinfall, match won. It's as simple as that."

Reigns walked closer to the two men and gave each of them a questioning look. "So what happens now?"

"Match is soon. Right after Punk and Heyman's little parade, I think. We'll be watching from that screen up in the corner there. Match ends, we catch her backstage and explain everything."

Dean stretched his legs apart in front of him and sighed. "Cool, sounds like a plan. Just don't go freaking her out with your look."

"Pft, if any of us is going to freak her out it's probably going to be you, or wild Samoan version three over there."

"Point made. I look forward to seeing our soon to be fourth member's reaction when this conversation takes place." Ambrose was continuously mocking the entire situation, though as crazy as it was, he kind of liked the idea of it. It was out there. Controversial. Exactly what Dean saw The Shield as. And he loved it.

"Do you even know what you're getting us into, Seth?"

"Nope. But I'm looking forward to finding out." 


End file.
